8th International Conference on Politeness

10:00, 9 July 2014 to
4:00, 11 July 2014 at
University of Huddersfield

The next international (Im)politeness conference, under the aegis of the Centre for Intercultural Politeness Research (University of Huddersfield) and the Linguistic Politeness Research Group (LPRG), is to be held at the University of Huddersfield, from 9th to 11th July 2014. Its theme is Conventional (Im)Politeness.

The theme of the conference

Since the publication of Brown and Levinson's seminal work there has been much interest in the conventional aspect of politeness and impoliteness, including conventionalised politeness implicatures (Tekourafi 2003; Haugh forthcoming), conventionalised impoliteness (Culpeper 2011), the interface between conventions and ritual practices (Kadar 2013), conventionalised im/politeness formulae (Culpeper 2010), the interface between conventions and other (im)politeness phenomena (Kadar and Haugh 2013), and so on. Studying conventional forms and practices provides key insights into the interactional operation of (im)politeness across cultures, intracultural variation, and other key issues in the field. Furthermore, research on conventional practices can neatly merge qualitative analysis with quantitative methodologies, thus making an important step towards systematising (im)politeness.

University of Alaska Fairbanks UNC Charlotte Manchester Metropolitan University Sheffield Hallam University Loughborough University University of Hawai'i at Manoa Lancaster University University of Leeds Tsuru University Sheffield Hallam University Victoria University of Wellington Griffith University University of Basel York St John University Sheffield Hallam University U.S. Census Bureau SOAS Middle East Technical University University of Athens University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Registration & fees

The fees for the symposium are as follows:

Full registration before 26 April: £130

Full registration from 26 April: £150

Student / unwaged registration before 26 April: £90

Student / unwaged registration from 26 April: £100

Single Day registration £70

Additional conference dinner booking £30

Registration includes all conference materials, welcome reception, all coffee/tea break refreshments and lunch on each day.

Getting Here

Huddersfield is a northern English town in the loose West Yorkshire conurbation, in the foothills of the Pennines (which in England are called mountains). It is situated midway between Leeds and Manchester.

From outside the UK

The nearest airports are Leeds/Bradford and Manchester, from both of which the ongoing journey to Huddersfield takes about an hour. The latter is more convenient. The journey from any of the London airports takes about 4 hours.

If you will be coming from the near continent, consider taking the Eurostar train from Brussels or Paris, as its London terminus (St. Pancras) is next door to Kings Cross station, from where the train journey to Huddersfield takes about three hours (see below). And if you want to avoid flying from further afield in Europe, consult www.seat61.com/

From inside the UK to Huddersfield train station

From Manchester airport, just take a Transpennine Express whose destination is Newcastle, Middlesborough or Scarborough. Huddersfield is the second or third stop. The one-way fare varies between £10 and £20.

From Leeds/Bradford airport, take a taxi (about £10) or a bus (about £4) to Leeds train station. Then take a Transpennine Express whose destination is Manchester or Liverpool (about £6). Huddersfield is the first or second stop

From any of the London airports, make for London Kings Cross or London Euston. The journey from either of these stations takes about three hours with one change, either at Manchester (from Euston) or at Leeds or Wakefield (from Kings Cross). The one-way fare varies horribly (anything from £30 to £120).

Huddersfield station is on the north-west edge of the town centre; the university campus is on the south-east edge. But it’s a small town centre and you can walk to the campus and the recommended accommodation (see Being Here) in 10 minutes or less (see town map).

Being Here

Even in high summer, you are unlikely to experience a heat wave in Huddersfield. If we are lucky, you will be able to walk around in just one layer of clothing. But you would be wise to have a second layer available.

For accommodation, we have two recommendations:

Our top recommendation is the Huddersfield Central Lodge(www.centrallodge.com),a couple of hundred metres east of the station in Beast Market, a very short street at the bottom of Kirkgate (see town map).It’s top because (1) it is only 5 minutes’ walk from both the station and the campus, (2) it is friendly and informal but well-appointed, (3) the room rate includes a proper English breakfast and (4), since we recommend it here, you are likely to find yourself in the company of many other participants there.

At this time, the Huddersfield Central Lodge is fully booked. It might be worth trying in case there have been cancellations. But if that doesn’t work, our next recommendation is uddthe Premier Inn on St. Andrew’s Road. It is just across Wakefield Road from the campus (see town map). Note: this is the Huddersfield Central Premier Inn, not the one out by the motorway (see below). See www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/HUDCEN/huddersfield-central?cmp=GLBC

If you are interested in pursuing this possibility, contact (+ 44) (0)1484 47 2780 or write to mail@digstudent.co.uk

Programme

Tuesday 8 July: 15.30 – 17.30 Early registration. For those of you who find yourselves already in Huddersfield at this time, come along to the foyer of Student Central (see ‘Learning and Leisure Centre’ on campus map), where you can register and collect all your conference materials.

Wednesday 9 July: Registration from 10.30 in Quayside (follow the signs on campus). The conference opens at 11.30. All sessions will take place in the Business Building (see campus map). Sessions will continue all day until 18.00, when the welcome reception will begin.

Thursday 10 July: Sessions all day from 09.15 to 17.30. Conference social dinner in Med One restaurant from 19.30.

Friday 11 July: Sessions from 09.30, with the closing plenary session starting at 15.30. Proceedings will wind to a halt round about 17.00.